De'anli Clan Compound 德安里

About De'anli Clan Compound

The compound covers 63,000 square metres with a total floor area of 32,000 square metres and was originally built as 773 rooms, in three sections raised in sequence: an old stockade, a middle stockade and a new stockade. A Jieyang Daily report carried on the municipal portal describes it as the largest and most completely preserved compound of its kind surviving in the Chaoshan region. It carries the designations Chinese Traditional Village, Guangdong provincial cultural relic protection unit, national AAA-grade tourist area, one of the first batch of Guangdong ancient villages, a Guangdong humanities and social-science popularisation demonstration base, and one of the traditional Eight Sights of Jieyang.

The old stockade forms a "hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix" layout centred on the Fang clan ancestral hall Yanyi Tang, representing the phoenix, flanked by dwellings fixed at exactly 100 rooms on a symmetrical central axis, representing the hundred birds; a Yangcheng Evening News report carried on the Puning government portal describes this as the only surviving example of the original layout in the Chaoshan region. The middle and new stockades each form a "four horses pulling a carriage" layout, the middle stockade centred on the ancestral hall Yicheng Tang, representing the carriage, flanked by two santing'en halls and two linked sidianjin halls representing the four horses. Traditional Chaoshan building types found throughout the compound include santing'en, sidianjin, xiashanhu and dujiaoshi structures. More than 20 million yuan has been invested in restoring principal buildings, including Yanyi Tang and Yicheng Tang, under a principle of not altering the original form of the cultural relic.

What to look for

• Yanyi Tang, the Fang clan ancestral hall at the centre of the old stockade's "hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix" layout, flanked by exactly 100 dwelling rooms.
• Yicheng Tang, the ancestral hall anchoring the middle stockade's "four horses pulling a carriage" layout, flanked by paired santing'en and sidianjin halls.
• The traditional Chaoshan building types found throughout the compound: santing'en, sidianjin, xiashanhu and dujiaoshi structures.
• The compound's three sequentially built sections, covering 63,000 square metres and originally comprising 773 rooms.

Location & getting there

Getting to De'anli Clan Compound

Check which interiors and courtyards are accessible. Active places of worship and protected monuments may have different visitor rules.

• Search for 德安里 with 揭阳市 and 普宁市.